This invention relates to illuminated toggle switches wherein the operating handle of the toggle lever is illuminated. More particularly the invention relates to illuminated toggle switches wherein the operating handle of the toggle lever is illuminated in different colors to provide indication of the operating position of the switch contacts.
Illuminated toggle switches having transparent or translucent operating levers which are illuminated by an internal light source have been known heretofore. For example, copending patent application Ser. No. 315,326 of John W. Stearley filed Oct. 26, 1981 as a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 170,411 filed July 21, 1980, now abandoned, and assigned to the assignee of this invention, discloses a toggle switch having a transparent operating lever which is illuminated by a lamp housed within the switch base to provide a constant illumination of the lever for indication of switch location or to provide intermittent, single color illumination to indicate the condition of the switch contacts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,211 issued Sept. 22, 1981, to F. J. Discenza discloses a toggle switch which illuminates the lever in one of two possible colors as an indication of switch contact conditions. This switch is a two position toggle switch wherein a colored actuator at the interior end of the toggle lever is is moved into and out of position above an internal lamp. When the colored actuator is moved out of position with respect to the lamp, light from the lamp projects through the stem of the toggle lever to illuminate the lever in its natural color. A colored sleeve may be provided around the stem to illuminate the lever in a color different from its natural coloring if desired, however only two colors are possible in this switch design. The I. J. Guberman U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,386 discloses a toggle lever switch wherein the toggle lever may be illuminated in three colors to indicate three positions of the switch. In this patent, a single light source illuminates several switches by virtue of a plurality of fiber optic cables which deliver a focused beam light source to the interior end of the respective toggle levers. As the lever is operated to its various positions, selected ones of three filters are brought into alignment with the focused light beam to illuminate the handle with the color of the respective filter so aligned.
While these prior switches have been useful for their intended purposes, none have directly addressed the problem of illuminating a multiposition toggle lever with three individual colors from an unfocused incandescent lamp mounted within a switch housing.